Flipping Through Content

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for enabling users to rapidly flip through displayed pages of content in an intuitive manner are provided. Graphical animations for transitioning from one page to another can be executed so that portions of three or more pages can be simultaneously viewed. This enables a user to make snap judgments as to whether she wishes to explore any one of those pages in more detail as she rapidly flips through the pages.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. application Ser.No. 13/284,678, filed Oct. 28, 2011, which is incorporated by referencein its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The disclosed embodiments relate generally to electronic devices, andmore particularly, to electronic devices that enable users to rapidlyperuse content in an intuitive manner.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Digital media content is plentiful and pervasive in today's onlinesociety. This content can be obtained from several data sources andpresented for display on a user's electronic device. Differentapplications running on the electronic device can present the content inany number of different ways. For example, a web browser can presentcontent based on the HTML coding of the webpage. As another example,various content aggregating applications such as Facebook™ and Twitter™can present content according to predefined templates. Since thequantity of content that can be presented is virtually limitless, whatis needed is an efficient approach for presenting content and providingusers with intuitive navigational access to the content.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

Systems and methods for enabling users to rapidly flip through displayedpages of content in an intuitive manner are provided. Graphicalanimations for transitioning from one page to another can be executed sothat portions of three or more pages can be simultaneously viewed. Thisenables a user to make snap judgments as to whether she wishes toexplore any one of those pages in more detail as she rapidly flipsthrough the pages. Various embodiments and details of how a user canrapidly flip through and view multiple pages at once are discussed inmore detail in the detailed discussion below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects and advantages of the invention will becomemore apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description,taken in conjunction with accompanying drawings, in which like referencecharacters refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 shows an illustrative home screen that may be provided by acontent aggregating application in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 2A shows an illustrative screen of a page that may be displayedwhen a user selects a category in the screen of FIG. 1 in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2B shows an illustrative screen of a page that may be displayedwhen a user selects a category in the screen of FIG. 1 in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 shows a flip transition animation from one page to another inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 4A-G illustrate a flip transition animation sequence from one pageto another page in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates how pages are converted into animation elements foruse in a flip transition animation in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 6 shows several illustrative input gestures, with each gestureproducing a different transition animation in accordance with anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 shows an illustration of a series of fast flips in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 8A-J illustrate a series of fast flip transition animations inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 shows an illustrative flowchart of steps for implementing aseries of fast flip transition animations in accordance with anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 10 shows another illustrative flowchart of steps for implementing aseries of fast flip transition animations in accordance with anembodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 11A-J show an illustrative blank page multi-flip transitionanimation in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 12 shows an illustrative flowchart of steps that may be taken todisplay a blank page multiflip transition animation in accordance withan embodiment of the invention; and

FIGS. 13 and 14 are block diagrams of electronic devices configured inaccordance with various embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

Systems and methods for enabling a user to rapidly flip throughdisplayed content are provided.

Embodiments of this invention can be implemented by an applicationrunning on an electronic device. The application may be a contentaggregator type of application that is capable of sourcing media contentfrom any suitable number of data sources. For example, the applicationcan present a user with several selectable high-level categories (e.g.,news, tech, sports, lifestyle), each of which may be associated with onemore data sources. When the user selects one of the high-levelcategories, content sourced from one or more of the data sourcesassociated with the selected category can be made available for viewingin accordance with embodiments of the invention.

The sourced content can be any suitable media such as, for example,printed media, video media, or audio media. Each data source can provideone or more articles or other content assets that can be viewed on theelectronic device. Each article or content asset can be succinctlyrepresented by a single page. When viewed, this page provides its readerwith enough information to enable her to make a snap judgment as towhether she wants to read the article in more detail. For example, thesingle page can include artwork and a title representative of thearticle. In another embodiment, multiple articles can be shown at once.For example, two or three articles may be displayed, each having its owntitle, artwork, and text.

When a user selects one of the high level categories, the applicationmay enter into a “flip” mode of navigation in accordance with anembodiment of the invention. In the flip navigation mode, the user canflip through a sequence of single pages representative of each articleor content asset associated with the selected category by inputtingtouch gestures on the device. The user can flip through the sequence bygoing forward or backward. Though it will be understood that if thesequence is at the beginning, the user cannot flip backwards to theprevious page, and if the sequence is at the end, the user cannot flipforward to the next page.

The flip is a transition animation in which either a top half or abottom half of a currently visible page folds onto its other half, andas the currently visible pages fold on to itself, a different pageunfolds in place of the current page. For example, assume a current pagehas a first half and second half, and that a different page has a thirdhalf and a fourth half. Further assume that the second and third halvesare attached to each other. When the second half flips up towards thefirst half, the third half also flips up. As the second and third halvesbegin to flip up, a portion of the fourth half becomes visible. As theangle between the fourth half and the mated second and third halvesincreases, more and more of the fourth half can be seen, and less of thefirst half can be seen. When the angle reaches 180 degrees, none of thecurrent page can be seen because the different page has fully flippedinto view.

The user can control the speed in which she flips through the pages. Thespeed in which each transition animation is performed is based on theinput gesture, which can be swipe gesture. The swipe gesture can includetouchdown location (e.g., of a finger) on the device, drag time durationand speed across the screen, and liftoff location (e.g., of the finger)from the device. Each of these factors can determine whether the userintends to rapidly or slowly flip through the pages.

The user can rapidly flip through the pages by quickly inputting touchgestures (e.g., such as a series of rapid swiping motions) on thedevice. This rapid flip can provide the user with the impression she isthumbing through a rolodex. In some embodiments, if a sufficient numberof input gestures are received within a predetermined period of time,the user may be presented with multiple pages at once. That is, two ormore pages can be simultaneously inflight, thereby showing the userportions of at least three different pages simultaneously. Each fliptransition animation is keyed off an input gesture, thereby prevent anyscrolling between pages.

The user can slowly flip through the pages by inputting a relativelyslow touch gesture on the device. In a “slow” flip, the transitionanimation flips the page at pace slower than the fast flip transition.Depending on the swipe gesture factors, the user can slowly pick up halfof the page and flip it over. Alternatively, the user can pick up thepage, but not move her finger far enough over, thereby resulting inhaving that page fall back down to its starting position.

After the user has finished flipping through the pages, she can selectthe current page to access more content associated with that page. Forexample, after tapping on the current page, the application will open upthe article so the user can begin reading. The article can includeseveral pages of content, and if the user desires, she may rapidly flipthrough those pages in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows an illustrative home screen 100 that may be provided by acontent aggregating application in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention. Screen 100 can include several selectable content categories110, user configuration option 120, settings option 130, and refreshoption 140. Each of content categories 110 is associated with one ormore data sources, from which content can be sourced for viewing orplayback on an electronic device. For example, categories 110 caninclude news, technology, sports, lifestyle, social networks, blogs,videos, user favorites, and the like.

User configuration option 120 may enable a user to customize the contentobtained by the application. For example, the user can define whichcategories 110 appear on screen 100 and the user can create one or morecustom categories 110. Settings option 130 can enable a user to setsettings for how the application operates. For example, the user can sethow often the application polls the data sources for new content.Refresh option 140 can enable a user to manually refresh the sourcedcontent associated with one or more categories 110.

When a user selects one of categories 110, the application cantransition from screen 100 to screen 200 of FIG. 2A. The transition fromscreen 100 to screen 200 can be performed in any number of differentways. In one embodiment, screen 200 can flip into view over screen 100.The flip can be implemented as one of several different transitionanimations, which are discussed in more detail below. For example, thetransition animation between screens 100 and 200 can be a multifliptransition animation as discussed below in connection with thedescription accompanying FIGS. 11-12. It is understood that transitionanimations other than flip animations may be used when transitioningfrom screen 100 to screen 200 such as, for example, a sliding transitionor a fading in transition.

FIG. 2A shows an illustrative screen 200 of a page that may be displayedwhen a user selects a category in screen 100 of FIG. 1 in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention. Page 201 in screen 200 may belimited to showing content associated with only one article or contentasset. This may be because the form factor of the device having screen200 is limited in size (e.g., such as in a hand-held or pocket-sizeddevice). Page 201 can include artwork 202, title 204, and sourceidentifier 206. Artwork 202, title 204, and source identifier 206 arederived from content sourced from a data source and the arrangement ofpage 201 is designed to minimize the time required for a user toascertain its contents so she can make a snap judgment as to whether tofurther explore the article or asset content. In other words, page 201is a single asset cover page representative of the article or asset thatcan be accessed by the user if she so desires.

A different page can exist for each article or content asset associatedwith the category selected in screen 100. These pages can be renderedand/or stored locally on or remote from the device running theapplication. In some embodiments, a predetermined number of pages can bestored in cache memory so that they can quickly accessed and renderedfor display or for use in flip transition animations according toembodiments of the invention.

During a flip transition animation, page 201 can fold over itself aboutflip axis 210. Flip axis 210 can be a center axis that bisects theportrait orientation of screen 200 at its midpoint. Since page 201 isoriented in a portrait mode (i.e., the aspect ratio is such that thetop-to-bottom dimensions are greater than the left-to-right dimensions),page 201 can fold onto itself in a vertical direction. For example, tophalf 220 can fold down over bottom half 230, or in the alternative,bottom half 230 can fold up over top half 220. If desired, however, page201 can flip over itself in a horizontal direction, a diagonaldirection, or any other suitable direction.

FIG. 2B shows an illustrative screen 250 of page 251 that may bedisplayed when a user selects a category in screen 100 of FIG. 1 inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention. Page 251 can showcontent associated with two or more articles or content assets. This maybe because the form factor of the device having screen 250 has a largersize (e.g., such as a tablet-sized device or monitor). As illustrated,content associated with three different articles is shown. The contentcan include artwork, a title, and text (typically a truncated version ofthe full text) for each article.

During a flip transition animation, page 251 can flip onto itself aboutflip axis 260. Flip axis 260 bisects page 251 along a vertical axis,thereby splitting page 251 in left and right halves 270 and 280. Thusduring a flip transition, page 251 folds onto itself in a horizontaldirection. For example, in a left-to-right transition, left half 270 canfold over right half 280, and in a right-to-left transition, right half280 can fold over left half 270.

FIG. 3 shows a flip transition animation from one page to another inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention. The transition animationbegins with page 1 and ends with page 2, as illustrated by generic layer310. The transition animation takes time (T) to complete, where T can beany period of time. For purposes of illustrative discussion, assume thetransition is a vertical transition taken along a flip axis runninghorizontally across the page. FIG. 3 also has top view layer 320 thatshows a top view of the transition animation and side view layer 330that shows a hypothetical side view of the transition animation. Thenumbers 1 and 2 shown in each time slice of layers 320 and 330illustrate the viewable portions of the pages.

Beginning on the left side of FIG. 3, the transition animation startswith page 1 being the only page that can be viewed by a user. When thetransition begins, both pages 1 and 2 are divided into halves. Page 1has first and second halves, and page 2 has third and fourth halves. Thebottom of second half is “mated” to the top of the third half. (FIG. 5provides a more detailed explanation on how the pages are organized indifferent layers and mated to each other.) As the transition begins,page 1 begins to take flight by lifting off page 2. More particularly,the mated combination of the second and third halves lift off the fourthhalf, thereby partially revealing page 2. However, for convenience, page1 is considered as the inflight page. As page 1 continues its inflighttransition, more and more of page 2 is revealed, and page 1 becomes morecovered. Then, at the end of time T, only page 2 is visible to the user.

FIGS. 4A-G illustrate a flip transition animation sequence from one pageto another page in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. FIGS.4A-G show flip axis 410 and pages 420 and 430 to the extent any suchportions thereof are visible. Page 420 has halves 422 and 424, and page430 has halves 432 and 434. The appropriate halves are shown dependingon the time slice of the animation sequence. The flip transitionanimation is a bottom to top vertical flip.

FIG. 4A shows a full view of page 420. FIG. 4B shows half 424 liftingoff to reveal half 434. FIG. 4C shows half 424 further along in itsflight path to the top half, but not yet having crossed flip axis 410.FIG. 4D shows half 424 at the halfway point in its flight path, fullyrevealing half 434. Any progression of half 424 beyond flip axis 410results in having half 432 shown instead of half 424, as indicated byFIG. 4E. FIG. 4F shows how yet further progression of half 424 (notshown) covers more of half 422 and reveals more of half 432. FIG. 4Gshows a full view of paged 430.

Although not shown in FIGS. 4A-G, lighting attributes of one or morevisible halves may change throughout the animation sequence. Forexample, in FIG. 4B, halves 422 and 424 can be considerably brighterthan half 434. Whereas in FIG. 4D the lighting attributes of halves 422and 434 can be substantially the same.

FIG. 5 illustrates how pages are converted into animation elements foruse in a flip transition animation in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention. When a user initiates a flip transition animation, aninflight module (shown in FIG. 14) converts the pages into animationelements and adds animation layers such as lighting to the elements. Theinflight module prepares not only the current page for a transition, buta predetermined number of pages existing before and after the currentpage. As explained above, the pages can exist in a sequence that theuser can peruse in a backwards or forward manner. It is understood thatdepending on where within the page sequence the current viewed pageexists, it may not be possible to prep a predetermined number of pagesexisting both before and after the current page. In such cases, theinflight module may prep as many pages as it can.

For purposes of the description accompanying FIG. 5, assume the currentpage is page N and that the pages are altered to be flipped in avertical direction, thereby necessitating the creation of top and bottomhalves of each page. As shown, each page has either a bottom or topidentifier. If the user flips to the next page, page N+1 will be shown,or if the user flips to the previous page, page N−1 will be shown.

In response to a trigger event, which is some event that may require aflip transition, the inflight module prepares several pages by splittingeach page into top and bottom halves. In addition, the inflight module“mates” the bottom half of a given page (e.g., page N) to the top halfof an adjacent page (e.g., page N+1) using a fold layer (e.g., foldlayer 510). Fold layer 512 “mates” the top half of page N to the bottomof page N−1. The fold layer can be used by the inflight module as amarker for determining which halves of which pages need to be animatedas part of the transition animation. For example, when the user providesan input to flip to the next page, the inflight module determines whichfold layer is associated with the bottom half of page N, and afterdetermining the fold layer, it knows that page N+1 is the next page tobring into view as page N begins its flight path out of view, asindicated by the dotted line. Page N+1 is “tethered” to page N andeffectively follows the same flight path of page N. Continuing theexample, the user can initiate another flip transition to cause page N+2(not shown) to be displayed. The inflight module determines which foldlayer is associated with the bottom half of page N+1 and initiates thetransition animation of pages N+1 and N+2.

As another example, when the user provides an input to flip to aprevious page (e.g., from page N to page N−1), the inflight enginedetermines which fold layer is associated with the top layer of page N.After determining the fold layer, it knows to initiate a transitionoperation of pages N and N−1.

Lighting layers 520 can be layered on top of each half as shown. Alighting module (shown in FIG. 14) can generate lighting layers 520 andlighting attributes associated with each layer 520 can be dynamicallyadjusted during flight of the halves. The lighting attributes can bebased on any number of different factors such as position of the pages,or more particularly, position of the halves of each page, the lightsource location, and the angle in which the electronic device is held.

The inflight module not only converts the pages into animation elements,it also handles the inflight characteristics of each flip transitionanimation. Inflight characteristics can include the speed of thetransition, the physics of the transition, and the animation style. Someof the characteristics such as speed and physics of the transitiondepend on input gestures provided by the user. Other characteristicssuch as animation style are typically independent of user inputgestures, but the speed in which the animation is executed can be userinput gesture dependent.

Referring now to FIG. 6, several illustrative input gestures are shown,with each gesture producing a different transition animation. Each ofthe input gestures is a swipe gesture, and a swipe gesture can includetouchdown location (e.g., of a finger) on the device, drag time andspeed across the screen, and liftoff location (e.g., of the finger) fromthe device. Each of these factors can determine the direction the userwishes to flip and whether the user intends to rapidly or slowly flipthrough the pages. As shown, each gesture has a touchdown location (asindicated by the lower circle), a drag path (as indicated by the dashedline), and a liftoff location (as indicated by the upper circle). Eachgesture has a velocity of X, Y, or Z, where X>Y>Z.

The swipe gestures can be recognized by a touch hardware module thatprocesses raw data received from a touch panel existing on theelectronic device. The touch module can recognize other gestures such astaps (both single and multiple simultaneous taps) and multi-touchgestures (two-finger pinch or two-finger scroll). The touch module canwork in concert with the inflight module and a physics module todetermine inflight characteristics for a transition animation.

The physics module can calculate movement parameters of each transitionanimation based on the user input gesture. The physics module candetermine how fast the inflight module should execute a transitionanimation. The physics module can determine whether the user inputgesture was sufficient to enable the page to fully flip. For example, auser may “pick up” a page to flip it, but does not have enough velocityin her swipe gesture motion, and as a result, the page may lift off, butfall back down to the original position because there was not enoughmomentum to carry it over the flip axis.

The location of touchdowns and liftoffs can be determined using a polarcoordinate system or a Cartesian coordinate system. In the polarcoordinate system, the location is calculated with respect to the flipaxis. The touchdown and liftoff location with respect to the flip axisprovides more data points for the physics module to determine how toinstruct the inflight module how to execute a transition animation. Thefollowing description of each gesture in FIG. 6 will illustrate how thephysics module takes each of the above-identified factors into accountwhen instructing the inflight module how to execute a transition.

Gesture 1 shows a swipe gesture crossing the flip axis at velocity X.Since X is a relatively fast velocity and the gesture crosses the flipaxis, the transition animation from page 1 to page 2 can be executed ata relatively fast pace.

Gesture 2 shows a swipe gesture crossing the flip axis at velocity Y.Since Y is a relatively medium velocity and the gesture crosses flipaxis, the transition animation from page 1 to page can be executed at apace proportional to Y.

Gesture 3 shows a swipe gesture that does not cross the flip axis, butis executed at velocity X. The physics module can deduce that the userintends a fast flip because the gesture is short and fast even thoughthe gesture does not cross the flip axis. As a result, the fliptransition animation is executed at a relatively fast pace.

Gesture 4 shows a swipe gesture that does not cross the flip axis, andis executed at velocity Z, a relatively slow velocity. In response tothis gesture, the physics module can deduce that there is not enoughspeed to carry the page over the flip axis. Thus, even though the pagemay lift off, it does not have enough momentum to complete a fulltransition. As a result, the page will fall back down and the transitionremains incomplete.

Gesture 5 shows a swipe gesture that crosses the flip axis at velocityZ, a relatively slow speed. In response to this gesture, the physicsmodule can instruct the inflight module to execute the transition slowlybut enables it to fully complete. Even though the user gesture isrelatively slow, she lifted off just beyond the flip axis, therebyallowing “gravity” to do the work of completing the transition.

The gestures illustrated in FIG. 6 are indicative of just a few of manydifferent gesture/transition combinations that may be executed inaccordance with embodiments of the invention. For example, a gesture cantouchdown in the top half, be dragged up, and liftoff in the top half,and this will result in having the bottom half flip onto the top half.Thus, the direction of the flip is not necessarily dependent on thetouchdown location.

Another gesture/transition combination that can be exercised inaccordance with embodiments of the invention is a series of relativelyhigh speed swipe gestures that cause a series of relatively high speedflip transitions to be executed. The resulting flip transitionanimations may be referred to herein as fast flips. The inflight modulecan execute the fast flips so that multiple pages are inflightsimultaneously. For example, when a first page goes inflight and asecond input gesture is received during flight of the first page, thesecond page goes inflight while the first page is still inflight. If athird input gesture is substantially immediately received, a third pagegoes inflight simultaneously with at least the second page. The firstpage may still be inflight in which case all three pages aresimultaneously inflight. This sequence of fast flips can continueindefinitely in either direction until there are no more pages todisplay or the user ceases proving gesture inputs.

Although the fast flips can occur in a relatively rapid succession, andmultiple pages can simultaneously be inflight, the user is provided witha succinct snapshot of at least a portion of each page before the nextfast flip commences. This gives the user the ability to quickly “thumb”through the pages in a rolodex fashion and make snap judgments as towhether to further explore any of the pages she just viewed.

Referring now to FIG. 7, an illustration of a series of fast flipsaccording to an embodiment of the invention is shown. The series of fastflip transition animations begin with page 1, includes page 2, and endswith page 3, as illustrated by generic layer 710. The swipe gesturesthat initiate this series can be, for example, a series of the Gesture 3type shown in FIG. 6. Each fast flip transition animation can take time(T_(FF)) to complete, where T_(FF) is a predetermined period of time.The entire series of fast flips can take time (TS), which can depend on,among other factors, the number of flips the user commences. Thepredetermined period of time, T_(FF), can range between 0.1 seconds to0.9 seconds, or more particularly between 0.2 seconds to 0.7 seconds, orbetween 0.3 seconds and 0.6 seconds, or between 0.4 and 0.5 seconds, orabout 0.4 seconds. For purposes of illustrative discussion, assume thetransition is a vertical transition taken along a flip axis runninghorizontally across the page. FIG. 7 also has top view layer 720 thatshows a top view of the transition animation and side view layer 730that shows a hypothetical side view of the transition animation. Thenumbers P1, P2, and P3 shown in each time slice of layers 720 and 730illustrate the viewable portions of the pages.

Before any transitions commence, the user can view only page 1, asillustrated by timeslice t₀ of layers 720 and 730. Commensurate withtimeslice t₀, a fast flip gesture is received, which prompts theinflight module to commence inflight operation of page 1. When page 1goes inflight, it begins to flip about the flip axis, pulling page 2along with it, as shown in timeslices t₁ and t₂. Then around timeslicet₃, another fast flip gesture input is received, which prompts theinflight module to commence inflight operation of page 2. Similar topage 1, when page 2 goes inflight, it begins to flip about the flipaxis, pulling page 3 along with it, as shown in timeslices t₃₋₅. Intimeslices t₃₋₄, however, both pages 1 and 2 are simultaneouslyinflight. In timeslice t₅, only page 2 is in flight because page 1 hadfinished its inflight execution. At timeslice t₆, only page 3 is visibleand page 2 has finished its inflight execution.

FIGS. 8A-J illustrate a series of fast flip transition animations inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention. FIGS. 84A-J show flipaxis 810 and pages 820, 830, 840, 850 to the extent any such portionsthereof are visible. Page 820 has halves 822 and 824, page 830 hashalves 832 and 834, page 840 has halves 842 and 844, and page 850 hashalves 852 and 854. The appropriate halves are shown depending on thetime slice of the animation sequence. Halves ending in “xx2” are tophalves, and halves ending in “xx3” are bottom halves. Each of the fastflip transition animations is a bottom to top vertical flip.

FIG. 8A shows a full view of page 820. FIG. 8B shows half 824 liftingoff to reveal half 834. FIG. 4C shows half 424 further along in itsflight path to the top half, but not yet having crossed flip axis 410.It also shows half 834 has lifted off to reveal half 844 of page 840. Atthis point in time, pages 820 and 830 are both inflight.

FIG. 8D shows that half 824 has nearly reached flip axis 810 and half834 has progressed further along its flight path. FIG. 8E shows halves822, 832, 834, and 844. Half 824 is no longer visible because page 820has passed flip axis 810. Half 832 is now visible as a result of page820 having passed flip axis 810.

FIG. 8F shows pages 820, 830, and 840 all simultaneously inflight, withhalf 854 of page 850 being revealed. FIG. 8G shows that all of pages820, 830, and 840 have passed flip axis, thereby showing only top halves822, 832, and 842. FIG. 8H shows that page 820 (not shown) has finishedits inflight execution because it is fully covered by page 830. FIG. 8Halso shows that page 830 is nearing completion of its inflight executionand FIG. 8H also shows that page 840 has passed flip axis 810.

FIG. 8I shows pages 840 and 850, with page 840 nearing completion of itsinflight path. In the next time sequence, shown in FIG. 8J, the inflightpath for page 840 is complete because only page 850 is visible.

FIG. 9 shows an illustrative flowchart of steps for implementing aseries of fast flip transition animations in accordance with anembodiment of the invention. Beginning at step 910, a first gestureinput is received. The first gesture input can include characteristics(e.g., touchdown and liftoff locations and speed of drag) that can causethe inflight module to execute a fast flip transition animation. Forexample, a gesture input such as gesture 3 of FIG. 6 may be received.Alternatively, the first gesture can include characteristics that cancause the inflight module to execute a flip transition animation thatprogresses at a pace slower than a fast flip.

At step 920, the first gesture input is processed and inflightcharacteristics for a first transition animation is determined. Thefirst gesture input may be processed, for example, by the physicsmodule, the touch module, or a combination of both modules to determinethe inflight characteristics of the first transition animation. Theinflight characteristics dictate how the inflight engine executes thetransition animation. As discussed above in connection with FIG. 6, thetransition animation can be executed according to any number ofdifferent ways.

At step 930, the first transition animation is executed in accordancewith the determined inflight characteristics. In this step, the inflightmodule controls the animation of a page and ultimately, how theanimation is presented to a user by transmitting animation instructionsto, for example, a 3D animation engine and/or graphics hardware.Moreover, the inflight module may prepare other pages for animation anduse fold layers and lighting layers as appropriate.

At step 940, a second gesture input is received while the firsttransition animation is in flight. For example, as a first page isflipping over, the second gesture input is received. At step 950, thesecond gesture input is processed and inflight characteristics for asecond transition animation are determined. For purposes of thisdiscussion, assume the second gesture input is a fast flip gesture andthe inflight characteristics are determined as such.

At step 960, the second transition animation is executed in accordancewith the determined inflight characteristics, and as a result both thefirst and second transition animations are simultaneously in flight.Thus, for at least a minimum period of time, both animations arepresented to the user at the same time. It is understood that additionalsteps may be added and that various steps may be performed in any orderor simultaneously.

FIG. 10 shows another illustrative flowchart of steps for implementing aseries of fast flip transition animations in accordance with anembodiment of the invention. Beginning at step 1010, a plurality ofgesture inputs are received via touch hardware within a predeterminedperiod of time.

At step 1020, a flip transition animation is executed in response toeach received gesture input, wherein execution of each transitionanimation sends a page inflight along a flight path, wherein viewableportions of the inflight page and a different page change as theinflight page progresses along its flight path, and wherein thepredetermined period of time is such that at least two pages aresimultaneously inflight. Each transition animation displays at least aportion of a different page. That is, each time a new transitionanimation takes flight, a portion of a page “beneath” the inflightpage(s) is presented to a user. In addition, because multiple gestureinputs are received relatively rapidly in sequence, at least twotransition animations are simultaneously inflight. In some embodiments,three, four, five, six, or more transition animations may simultaneouslybe inflight.

Lighting parameters of each page can be dynamically adjusted dependingon where a given page is within a given transition animation. This way,the user is presented with visual lighting effects for each visible pageas she quickly flips through the pages.

Referring now to FIGS. 11A-J, an illustrative blank page multi-fliptransition animation is shown. The blank page multi-flip transitionanimation is a transition animation similar to several fast fliptransition animations except that the multi-flip transition includesseveral blank pages, whereas the fast flips include pages with content.The multi-flip animation, and in particular, the blank pages, signifiesto the user that she is transitioning to a feature of the applicationthat has several pages of content. The animation sequence of FIGS. 11A-Jshow a transition form a home screen to the first page corresponding tothe category selected in the home screen. The multiflip transitionanimation can be handled by a multiflip module and can be performedautomatically without user input. That is, the user may select acategory, which prompts execution of the multiflip transition animation,but the sequence of multiple flip animations is performed automatically.

Beginning with FIG. 11A, a home screen 1110 is provided with severalselectable categories 1112. Assuming a user selects one of selectablecategories 1112, the home screen begins to flip about flip axis 1120,revealing first blank page 1130, as indicated in FIG. 11B. FIGS. 11C-Gshow a sequence of multiple blank pages flipping about flip axis 1120.The sequence includes blank pages 1130, 1140, 1150, 1160, and 1170,though it is understood that any number of blank pages may be used.

FIG. 11H shows that liftoff of blank page 1170 shows content page 1180.Content page 1180 may be the first page of all the available pagesassociated with the selected category. FIG. 11I shows that blank page1170 is nearing its inflight path, and FIG. 11J shows that blank page1170 has completed its inflight path because the user can see onlycontent page 1180.

FIG. 12 shows an illustrative flowchart of steps that may be taken todisplay a blank page multiflip transition animation in accordance withan embodiment of the invention. Beginning at step 1210, a first pagehaving a plurality of selectable categories is displayed. For example, ahome screen such as the shown in FIG. 1 can be displayed. Then, at step1220, user selection of on the selectable categories is received. Forexample, the user can tap on one of the categories.

At step 1230, a multiflip transition animation is executed in responseto the received user selection to transition from the first page to acontent (or landing) page. The multiflip transition includessimultaneous inflight execution of several blank and is performedautomatically after the user selects one of the categories. The contentpage can be the first page associated with the selected category.

As an alternative to the blank page multiflip embodiment discussed abovein connection with FIGS. 11A-J and 12, content pages may be displayed inlieu of the blank pages during the multiflip transition animation. Forexample, the content can be the actual content of the pagescorresponding to the selected category. The multiflip module can selecta subset of the content for inclusion in the multiflip transitionanimation. The content pages can be cached in memory for faster access.In addition, the content pages can be lower resolution versions of thecontent pages obtained from one or more data sources. In effect, amultiflip transition animation with content may be similar to severalfast flip transition animations, but is executed automatically withoutany input from a user.

It should be understood that processes of FIGS. 9, 10, and 12 are merelyillustrative. Any of the steps may be removed, modified, or combined,and any additional steps may be added, without departing from the scopeof the invention.

FIG. 13 illustrates a block diagram of electronic device 1300 thatincludes touch device 1310 that can receive touch input for interactingwith processing system 1320 via wired or wireless communication channel1330. Touch device 1310 may be used to provide user input to processingsystem 1320 in lieu of or in combination with other input devices suchas a keyboard, mouse, etc. One or more touch devices 1310 may be usedfor providing user input to processing system 13204. Touch device 1310may be an integral part of processing system 1320 (e.g., touch screen ona laptop) or may be separate from processing system 1320.

Touch device 1310 may include a touch sensitive panel which is wholly orpartially transparent, semitransparent, non-transparent, opaque or anycombination thereof. Touch device 1310 may be embodied as a touchscreen, touch pad, a touch screen functioning as a touch pad (e.g., atouch screen replacing the touchpad of a laptop), a touch screen ortouchpad combined or incorporated with any other input device (e.g., atouch screen or touchpad disposed on a keyboard) or anymulti-dimensional object having a touch sensitive surface for receivingtouch input.

In one example, touch device 1310 embodied as a touch screen may includea transparent and/or semitransparent touch sensitive panel partially orwholly positioned over at least a portion of a display. According tothis embodiment, touch device 1310 functions to display graphical datatransmitted from processing system 1320 (and/or another source) and alsofunctions to receive user input. In other embodiments, touch device 1310may be embodied as an integrated touch screen where touch sensitivecomponents/devices are integral with display components/devices. Instill other embodiments, a touch screen may be used as a supplemental oradditional display screen for displaying supplemental or the samegraphical data as a primary display and to receive touch input.

Touch device 1310 may be configured to detect the location of one ormore touches or near touches on device 1310 based on capacitive,resistive, optical, acoustic, inductive, mechanical, chemicalmeasurements, or any phenomena that can be measured with respect to theoccurrences of the one or more touches or near touches in proximity todevice 1310. Software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof maybe used to process the measurements of the detected touches to identifyand track one or more gestures. A gesture may correspond to stationaryor non-stationary, single or multiple, touches or near touches on touchdevice 1310. A gesture may be performed by moving one or more fingers orother objects in a particular manner on touch device 1310 such astapping, pressing, rocking, scrubbing, twisting, changing orientation,pressing with varying pressure and the like at essentially the sametime, contiguously, or consecutively. A gesture may be characterized by,but is not limited to a pinching, sliding, swiping, rotating, flexing,dragging, or tapping motion between or with any other finger or fingers.A single gesture may be performed with one or more hands, by one or moreusers, or any combination thereof.

Processing system 1320 may drive a display with graphical data todisplay a graphical user interface (GUI). The GUI may be configured toreceive touch input via touch device 1320. Embodied as a touch screen,touch device 1310 may display the GUI. Alternatively, the GUI may bedisplayed on a display separate from touch device 1310. The GUI mayinclude graphical elements displayed at particular locations within theinterface. Graphical elements may include but are not limited to avariety of displayed virtual input devices including virtual scrollwheels, a virtual keyboard, virtual knobs, virtual buttons, any virtualUI, and the like. A user may perform gestures at one or more particularlocations on touch device 1310 that may be associated with the graphicalelements of the GUI. In other embodiments, the user may perform gesturesat one or more locations that are independent of the locations ofgraphical elements of the GUI. Gestures performed on touch device 1310may directly or indirectly manipulate, control, modify, move, actuate,initiate or generally affect graphical elements such as cursors, icons,media files, lists, text, all or portions of images (e.g., such as pagesdiscussed above in connection with FIGS. 8A-J), or the like within theGUI. For instance, in the case of a touch screen, a user may directlyinteract with a graphical element by performing a gesture over thegraphical element on the touch screen. Alternatively, a touch padgenerally provides indirect interaction. Gestures may also affectnon-displayed GUI elements (e.g., causing user interfaces to appear) ormay affect other actions within processing system 1320 (e.g., affect astate or mode of a GUI, application, or operating system). Gestures mayor may not be performed on touch device 1310 in conjunction with adisplayed cursor. For instance, in the case in which gestures areperformed on a touchpad, a cursor (or pointer) may be displayed on adisplay screen or touch screen and the cursor may be controlled viatouch input on the touchpad to interact with graphical objects on thedisplay screen. In other embodiments in which gestures are performeddirectly on a touch screen, a user may interact directly with objects onthe touch screen, with or without a cursor or pointer being displayed onthe touch screen.

Feedback may be provided to the user via communication channel 1330 inresponse to or based on the touch or near touches on touch device 1310.Feedback may be transmitted optically, mechanically, electrically,olfactory, acoustically, or the like or any combination thereof and in avariable or non-variable manner.

Attention is now directed towards embodiments of a system architecturethat may be embodied within any portable or non-portable deviceincluding but not limited to a communication device (e.g. mobile phone,smart phone), a multi-media device (e.g., MP3 player, TV, radio), aportable or handheld computer (e.g., tablet, netbook, laptop), a desktopcomputer, an All-In-One desktop, a peripheral device, or any othersystem or device adaptable to the inclusion of system architecture 1300,including combinations of two or more of these types of devices. FIG. 14is a block diagram of one embodiment of system 1400 that can includeelectronic device 1402 and data sources 1404. Electronic device 1402that can include one or more computer-readable mediums 1410, processingsystem 1420, touch subsystem 1430, display/graphics subsystem 1440,communications circuitry 1450, storage 1460, and audio circuitry 1470.These components may be coupled by one or more communication buses orsignal lines. Electronic device 1402 can be the same as or similar toelectronic device 1300 (FIG. 13).

Data sources 1404 represent the various sources from which content canbe obtained and ultimately displayed on electronic device 1402. Thecontent can be any suitable media such as, for example, printed media,video media, or audio media. Each data source can provide one or morearticles or other content assets that can be viewed on the electronicdevice. Electronic device 1402 can obtain content from data sources 1404on demand or at regular intervals. The content at data source 1404 canupdate continuously.

It should be apparent that the architecture shown in FIG. 14 is only oneexample architecture of system 1400, and that electronic device 1402could have more or fewer components than shown, or a differentconfiguration of components. The various components shown in FIG. 14 canbe implemented in hardware, software, firmware or any combinationthereof, including one or more signal processing and/or applicationspecific integrated circuits.

Communications circuitry 1450 can include RF circuitry 1452 and/or port1454 for sending and receiving information. RF circuitry 1452 permitstransmission of information over a wireless link or network to one ormore other devices and includes well-known circuitry for performing thisfunction. Port 1454 permits transmission of information over a wiredlink. Communications circuitry 1450 can communicate, for example, withdata sources 1404. Communications circuitry 1450 can be coupled toprocessing system 1420 via peripherals interface 1424. Interface 1424can include various known components for establishing and maintainingcommunication between peripherals and processing system 1420.

Audio circuitry 1470 can be coupled to an audio speaker (not shown) anda microphone (not shown) and includes known circuitry for processingvoice signals received from interface 1424 to enable a user tocommunicate in real-time with other users. In some embodiments, audiocircuitry 1470 includes a headphone jack (not shown).

Peripherals interface 1424 can couple various peripherals of the systemto processor 1426 and computer-readable medium 1410. One or moreprocessors 1426 can communicate with one or more computer-readablemediums 1410 via controller 1422. Computer-readable medium 1410 can beany device or medium that can store code and/or data for use by one ormore processors 1426. Medium 1410 can include a memory hierarchy,including but not limited to cache, main memory and secondary memory.The memory hierarchy can be implemented using any combination of RAM(e.g., SRAM, DRAM, DDRAM), ROM, FLASH, magnetic and/or optical storagedevices, such as disk drives, magnetic tape, CDs (compact disks) andDVDs (digital video discs). Medium 1410 may also include a transmissionmedium for carrying information-bearing signals indicative of computerinstructions or data (with or without a carrier wave upon which thesignals are modulated). For example, the transmission medium may includea communications network, including but not limited to the Internet(also referred to as the World Wide Web), intranet(s), Local AreaNetworks (LANs), Wide Local Area Networks (WLANs), Storage Area Networks(SANs), Metropolitan Area Networks (MAN) and the like.

One or more processors 1426 can run various software components storedin medium 1410 to perform various functions for device 1402. In someembodiments, the software components include operating system 1411,communication module (or set of instructions) 1412, touch processingmodule (or set of instructions) 1412, physics module (or set ofinstructions) 1414, inflight module (or set of instructions) 1415,multiflip module (or set of instructions) 1416, lighting module (or setof instructions) 1417, and one or more applications (or set ofinstructions) 1418. Each of these modules and above noted applicationscorrespond to a set of instructions for performing one or more functionsdescribed above and the methods described in this application (e.g., thecomputer-implemented methods and other information processing methodsdescribed herein). These modules (e.g., sets of instructions) need notbe implemented as separate software programs, procedures or modules, andthus various subsets of these modules may be combined or otherwiserearranged in various embodiments. In some embodiments, medium 1410 maystore a subset of the modules and data structures identified above.Furthermore, medium 1410 may store additional modules and datastructures not described above.

Operating system 1411 can include various procedures, sets ofinstructions, software components and/or drivers for controlling andmanaging general system tasks (e.g., memory management, storage devicecontrol, power management, etc.) and facilitates communication betweenvarious hardware and software components.

Communication module 1412 facilitates communication with other devicesusing communications circuitry 1450 and includes various softwarecomponents for handling data received from RF circuitry 1452 and/or port1454.

Touch processing module 1413 includes various software components forperforming various tasks associated with touch hardware 14334 includingbut not limited to receiving and processing touch input received fromI/O device 1430 via touch I/O device controller 1432. For example, touchprocessing module 1413 can also include software components forperforming tasks associated with other I/O devices (not shown).

Physics, inflight, multiflip, and lighting modules 1414-1417 includeinstructions for performing different flip transition animations inaccordance with various embodiments of the invention. Modules 1414-1417may use data provided by other modules within medium 1410 or operate inconcert with the modules to execute transition animations.

Physics module 1414 can determine inflight characteristics of transitionanimations based on gesture inputs processed by touch processing module1413. For example, physics module 1414 can determine the speed at whichthe transition animation is performed. As another example, module 1414can determine whether sufficient momentum is present (based on the inputgesture) to enable the transition animation to cross the flip axis andcomplete its inflight path.

Inflight module 1415 controls the transition animation based on dataprovided by physics module 1414, touch processing module 1413, lightingmodule 1417, and/or multiflip module 1416. Inflight module 1415 caninclude various known software components for rendering, animating anddisplaying graphical objects on a display surface. In embodiments inwhich touch hardware 1434 is a touch sensitive display (e.g., touchscreen), inflight module 1415 includes components for rendering,displaying, and animating objects on the touch sensitive display. Moreparticularly, module 1415 can provide animation instructions to 3Danimation engine 1442, which can render the graphics and provide therendering to graphics I/O controller 1444 so it can display the graphicson display 1446.

Inflight module 1415 can include instructions for converting pages intoanimation elements suitable for transition animations. For example,module 1415 can obtain pages from storage 1460 and prepare those pagesfor transition animations. For example, the pages can be prepared bybeing “split” into first and second halves. Module 1415 can use foldlayers to keep track of which pages to include in a sequence of fliptransition animations. Module 1415 can also incorporate lighting layersfor each page.

Lighting module 1417 includes instructions for dynamically adjusting thelighting of each page as it moves along its flight path. Multiflipmodule 1416 includes instructions for simultaneously displaying multipleblank pages as part of a transition from one page to another.

One or more applications 1419 can include any applications installed onsystem 1402, including without limitation, a browser, address book,contact list, email, instant messaging, word processing, keyboardemulation, widgets, JAVA-enabled applications, encryption, digitalrights management, voice recognition, voice replication, locationdetermination capability (such as that provided by the globalpositioning system (GPS)), a music player, etc.

Touch I/O controller 1432 is coupled to touch hardware 1434 forcontrolling or performing various functions. Touch hardware 1432communicates with processing system 1420 via touch I/O device controller1432, which includes various components for processing user touch input(e.g., scanning hardware). One or more other input controllers (notshown) receives/sends electrical signals from/to other I/O devices (notshown). Other I/O devices may include physical buttons, dials, sliderswitches, sticks, keyboards, touch pads, additional display screens, orany combination thereof.

If embodied as a touch screen, touch hardware 1434 displays visualoutput to the user in a GUI. The visual output may include text,graphics, video, and any combination thereof. Some or all of the visualoutput may correspond to user-interface objects. Touch hardware 1434forms a touch-sensitive surface that accepts touch input from the user.Touch hardware 1434 and touch controller 1432 (along with any associatedmodules and/or sets of instructions in medium 1410) detects and trackstouches or near touches (and any movement or release of the touch) ontouch hardware 1434 and converts the detected touch input intointeraction with graphical objects, such as one or more user-interfaceobjects. In the case in which hardware 1434 is embodied as a touchscreen, the user can directly interact with graphical objects that aredisplayed on the touch screen. Alternatively, in the case in whichhardware 1434 is embodied as a touch device other than a touch screen(e.g., a touch pad), the user may indirectly interact with graphicalobjects that are displayed on a separate display screen.

Embodiments in which touch hardware 1434 is a touch screen, the touchscreen may use LCD (liquid crystal display) technology, LPD (lightemitting polymer display) technology, OLED (organic LED), or OEL(organic electro luminescence), although other display technologies maybe used in other embodiments.

Feedback may be provided by touch hardware 1434 based on the user'stouch input as well as a state or states of what is being displayedand/or of the computing system. Feedback may be transmitted optically(e.g., light signal or displayed image), mechanically (e.g., hapticfeedback, touch feedback, force feedback, or the like), electrically(e.g., electrical stimulation), olfactory, acoustically (e.g., beep orthe like), or the like or any combination thereof and in a variable ornon-variable manner.

In some embodiments, peripherals interface 1424, one or more processors1426, and memory controller 1422 may be implemented on a single chip. Insome other embodiments, they may be implemented on separate chips.Storage 1460 can any suitable medium for storing data, including, forexample, volatile memory (e.g., cache, RAM), non-volatile memory (e.g.,Flash, hard-disk drive), or a both for storing data, including pagesused for transition animations.

Notification module 238 can interface with one or more ApplicationProgramming Interfaces (“APIs”) to provide a notification center thatcan generate various types of notifications when system 200 is in eithera locked state or an unlocked state. Furthermore, notification module238 can provide multiple settings for customizing the notificationcenter.

The described embodiments of the invention are presented for the purposeof illustration and not of limitation.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving a gesture input bya user device, the gesture input having a touch down point correspondingto a location on a first page displayed on a display of the user device;identifying one or more gesture characteristics of gesture input;determining one or more inflight characteristics of the first page basedon one or more of the identified gesture characteristics; executing atransition animation of the first page in accordance with one or more ofthe inflight characteristics of the first page, wherein execution of thetransition animation sends the first page inflight along a flight path,the first page comprising first and second halves separated by an axis,wherein during the transition animation, a half of the first page ismated to a half of a second page, as the first page progresses along theflight path, the mated halves of the first page and the second page flipabout the axis, and a position of the mated halves within the flightpath dictates viewable portions of the first page and the second page,wherein the viewable portions of the first page and the second pagechange as the first page progresses along the flight path.
 2. The methodof claim 1, wherein the flight path of the transition animationcomprises flipping the first half of the first page about the axis ontop of the second half of the first page or flipping the second half ofthe first page about the axis on top of the first half of the firstpage.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the inflight characteristicscomprise a speed and direction in which the transition animation isexecuted.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: dynamicallyadjusting lighting parameters associated with the transition animationof the first page.
 5. An electronic device, comprising: a processor toexecute instructions; and a memory coupled with the processor to storeinstructions, which when executed by the processor, cause the processorto: receive a first gesture input; determine inflight characteristicsfor a first transition animation of a first page based on the gestureinput; execute the first transition animation in accordance with thedetermined inflight characteristics so that the first transitionanimation of the first page is visibly inflight; and dynamically adjustlighting parameters associated with the first transition animation. 6.The electronic device of claim 5, wherein the processor is operative to:receive a second gesture input while the first transition animation isinflight; determine inflight characteristics for a second transitionanimation of a second page; and execute the second transition animationin accordance with the determined inflight characteristics so that thesecond transition animation is visibly inflight, wherein the firsttransition animation of the first page and the second transitionanimation of the second page are simultaneously inflight; anddynamically adjust lighting parameters associated with the first andsecond transition animations.
 7. The electronic device of claim 6,wherein the processor is operative to: receive a third gesture inputwhile the first and second transition animations are inflight; determineinflight characteristics for a third transition animation of a thirdpage; and execute the third transition animation in accordance with thedetermined inflight characteristics so that the third transitionanimation is visibly inflight, wherein the first, second, and thirdtransition animations are simultaneously inflight.
 8. The electronicdevice of claim 7, wherein the first transition animation is a userviewable transition from the first page to the second page, and whereinthe second transition animation is a user viewable transition from thesecond page to the third page.
 9. The electronic device of claim 8,wherein when the first and second transition animations aresimultaneously inflight, the first, second, and third pages aresimultaneously user viewable.
 10. The electronic device of claim 5,wherein the first page is a cover page of a media asset.
 11. Theelectronic device of claim 6, wherein the first and second gestureinputs are swipe gestures, each swipe gesture including a touchdownevent, a drag event, and a liftoff event.
 12. The electronic device ofclaim 6, wherein the first and second transition animations are pageflipping transition animations.
 13. A method comprising: displaying afirst page having a plurality of content items; receiving a selection ofone of the content items; executing a transition animation in responseto the received user selection to transition from the first page to acontent page, the transition animation including simultaneous inflightdisplay of a plurality of blank pages; and dynamically adjustinglighting parameters associated with each blank page as it progressesalong its inflight path.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein thetransition animation from the first page to the content page comprises:visually transitioning from the first page to a first of the blankpages; animating the simultaneous inflight display of each of the blankpages, starting with the first blank page and ending with a last blankpage; and visually transitioning from the last blank page to the contentpage.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the first page and at leasttwo blank pages are simultaneously viewable by a user.
 16. The method ofclaim 14, wherein at least two blank pages and the content page aresimultaneously viewable for the user.
 17. The method of claim 14,wherein at least three blank pages are simultaneously viewable by theuser.
 18. The method of claim 14, wherein the content page is the firstof several content pages associated with the selected content item. 19.The method of claim 14, wherein the executing the transition animationcomprises: visually flipping the first page and the blank pages about aflip axis.
 20. A method comprising: displaying a first page having aplurality of selectable content items; receiving user selection of oneof the selectable content items; executing a transition animation inresponse to the received user selection to transition from the firstpage to a landing page, the transition animation including simultaneousinflight display of a plurality of content pages; and dynamicallyadjusting lighting parameters of a page of the plurality of pagesdepending on an order of the page relative to the other plurality ofpages within the transition animation.
 21. The method of claim 20wherein the transition animation is a multi-flip animation from thefirst page to a landing page comprising: visually transitioning from thefirst page to a first of the content pages; animating the simultaneousinflight display of each of the content pages, starting with the firstcontent page and ending with a last content page; and visuallytransitioning from the last content page to the landing page.